GLBT Vietnamese-Americans: Building a Conceptual Framework to Examine Minority Help-Seeking Behavior

Abstract

A conceptual framework is built for teaching research and assessing mental health needs and help seeking of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) Vietnamese-American population. To be sensitive to cultural needs, mindfulness is used as a theoretical starting point for examining self-acceptance in this population. The framework first describes how acceptance or rejection of one's sexual orientation/identity by self and others predicts mental health outcomes. Second, it analyzes how the intent to seek help and actual help seeking is affected by internal (i.e., self-blame, selfconcealment, denial) and external (i.e., environmental, acculturation, economic) factors. The framework provides a step-by-step process for understanding the interconnection between a theoretical concept and the consequences when the studied variables interact.

Reshaping boundaries: Family politics and GLBTQ resistance in urban Vietnam

“…As Bui highlights, parents may react negatively to their son or daughter coming out, not only because of their own views on sexuality and the importance of marriage, but also because of wider sociocultural norms and the negative implications it could have for the collective face of the family (Cho, 2009;Kam, 2007;Luu & Cheung, 2010;Tan, 2011).…”